Among the leading companies preparing for the highly anticipated return of G2E Las Vegas, to be held October 9 – 12 at The Venetian Expo, is IGT. At the event, the gaming industry innovator is set to showcase its portfolio of cutting-edge products and solutions that reflect the company’s commitment to leveraging the latest technology.
In an exclusive interview ahead of the event, Nick Khin, Chief Operating Officer of Gaming at IGT, shares with Yogonet insights into IGT’s strategic objectives for the event, the key highlights visitors can expect at G2E, and the company’s expanding presence in both established and emerging gaming markets worldwide.
Could you provide us with an overview of IGT’s presence and involvement at this year’s G2E event?
G2E is extremely important to IGT, as it represents a significant opportunity for us to introduce new games, systems and solutions in addition to demonstrating a variety of our market-ready proven performers to our commercial and tribal casino customers and partners from all over the world.
We have the largest exhibit at the show, at more than 19,700 square feet, which gives us the opportunity to showcase more than 200 innovations in premium, core, Class II, video poker, electronic table games and other gaming solutions, in addition to systems, iGaming and sports betting.
What specific objectives and goals is IGT aiming to achieve at the event? Are there any particular themes or focal points that IGT intends to spotlight at G2E this year?
Ultimately, our objective is to demonstrate to operators how our games, systems and solutions can uniquely help them meet their objectives and engage players. Focal points at the show will include new performance-tested, multi-level progressive games across core and premium, including the chart-topping Mystery of the Lamp MLP on the new PeakCurve49 cabinet, plus new base game themes for our award-winning Prosperity Link MLP.
In celebration of the extension of our licensing partnership with Sony Pictures Television, we will introduce compelling new themes like Wheel of Fortune Diamond Deluxe, plus new Wheel of Fortune omnichannel titles.
For the core segment, we will present games that have shown significant performance promise, such as Magic Treasures and Samurai 888 Spin. We will also demonstrate updated mechanical reel titles like Double Chili Mania and Double Diamond Deluxe on the DiamondRS cabinet.
In the PlayDigital portion of the booth, G2E attendees can preview IGT’s engaging omnichannel content and industry-leading PlaySports sports betting solutions. Additional highlights will include advancements to our acclaimed IGT ADVANTAGE casino management system and our new MESA 4K electronic table games terminal.
Joe Asher, President of Sports Betting at IGT, will participate in a session on the state of legal sports betting. What insights can we expect from Asher at this panel? How would you describe IGT’s presence in the growing US sports betting market at the moment?
Given Joe’s longevity and expertise in the sports betting industry, many G2E attendees are interested in hearing his perspective on the future of the U.S. betting market.
The PlaySports team is doing a tremendous job bringing sports betting to IGT customers throughout North America and advancing the player experience through products such as our recently launched PeakBarTop with sports betting and Total Gaming CrystalFlex terminal.
In addition to North American stakeholders, G2E attracts a large number of attendees from other parts of the world, including LatAm. Which markets will you target at the event, and how do IGT’s solutions adapt to the specific needs of each region?
IGT operates in more than 100 gaming jurisdictions around the world, and we look forward to showcasing our regionally attuned solutions that will meet the needs of a variety of international markets. We continue to build our product roadmap for LatAm with compelling MLPs, multi-game content and systems solutions.
Examples of other regionally attuned solutions include new introductions for Eastern European operators, where we have evolved our USwitch multi-game packs with a broad library of entertaining games on the PeakSlant32 cabinet. In the UK, we recently introduced the IGT Unite game chooser featuring market-attuned core and MLP content on one machine.
We also continue to evolve globally in the cashless gaming space with our Resort Wallet and IGTPay solution. Our PlayDigital team will highlight its leadership in iGaming and sports betting and demonstrate why IGT’s solutions have international appeal.
We have seen IGT further its commitment to omnichannel gaming this year with the launch of the first-ever omnichannel Wheel of Fortune jackpot game in the US, and the expansion of the omnichannel Powerbucks games and Mega Jackpots in Alberta, Canada. What makes these products so important?
Consumers seek choice and convenience in everything they do. Mobile gaming continues to grow in regulated jurisdictions, and IGT is the only gaming supplier that offers omnichannel jackpot games with combined jackpot liquidity between land-based, mobile, and online versions of a game.
This can result in quicker jackpot accruals and more frequent jackpots. In 2016, IGT launched the gaming industry’s first omnichannel wide-area progressive with Powerbucks in Canada. It has performed very well, and recently awarded its 50th million-dollar-plus jackpot.
In May, we extended that success to New Jersey by introducing the first omnichannel wide area progressive link in the U.S. with Wheel of Fortune slots, and we’ve seen very good initial results.
